Lovie Smith flies to Charlotte for Peppers  —  Bears coach Lovie Smith arrived in Charlotte early Friday morning and is expected to return to Chicago later in the day with Julius Peppers and his agent, Carl Carey.  —  No team was allowed to have contact with the defensive end until …

Blood test KOs Reyes for the day  —  PORT ST. LUCIE — Jose Reyes had a doctor's appointment that couldn't wait, prompting his absence from yesterday's Mets lineup.  —  The shortstop had blood taken in the morning — the team said it was testing related to his spring physical …

New York Yankees upset with Alex Rodriguez, and YES coverage lets it show  —  Certain members of the Yankees high command are very, very angry with Alex Rodriguez.  —  No one likes being deceived, especially these suits.  They are furious over A-Rod hanging them out to dry …

AL East grabs top three spots in ranking of the general managers … No one has as much control over a team's fate as the general manager.  A good one can thwart a dimwit owner, and a great one can win with a low payroll.  Yet there's no reliable way to tell the good ones from the bad ones.

Former Bucs OF McLouth revived in Atlanta  —  ORLANDO, Fla. — If there ever is a reunion of players the Pirates have traded away over the past few years, Nate McLouth won't volunteer to mail the invitations.  —  “No, because you don't want to pay for all that postage,” McLouth said, grinning.

Four reasons the Yankees are vulnerable  —  Dayn Perry is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com and author of the blog Spolitical, which explores the relationship between sports and politics.  He's presently at work on his second book, a biography of Reggie Jackson.  —  Can the Yankees be stopped?

Dolphins to make strong offer for Dansby  —  Sun Sentinel  —  Call it the changing of the linebackers.  —  Joey Porter is on his way out the door, and free agent Karlos Dansby apparently is on his way in.  —  The Dolphins are expected to announce Porter's release Friday …

Bengie Molina can't mask feelings about staying with Giants, passing on New York Mets  —  SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Bengie Molina wanted to be a Met.  —  The Mets spent the winter in the market for a starting catcher.  —  So why is Bengie Molina in Arizona instead of Port St. Lucie this spring …

Beckett aims to live down in the zone  —  Ace hopes to give improved infield defense plenty of work  —  FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox ace Josh Beckett has a geographical goal for his fastball this season, one he wants to start setting in motion during Spring Training.

GM Moore confident Royals going in right direction  —  SURPRISE, ARIZ. (AP)  —  Nearly four years after Dayton Moore was hired to turn the Kansas City Royals around, they still aren't turned.  —  Judged solely by wins and losses, last year was even a step backward.

Milton Bradley: Blame Chicago for struggles, not me  —  Milton Bradley said unrealistic expectations and poor communication, and not the player himself, were to blame for his struggles during his one season with the Chicago Cubs.  —  In an interview with The New York Times, Bradley …

CC says his delivery was “so-so”  —  CC Sabathia wasn't thrilled with his first spring start, pitching two innings against the Phillies this afternoon at Bright House Field.  Sabathia allowed two hits and walked two in a pair of scoreless frames.  —  “My delivery was so-so,” he said.

Spring Training Game 2: Yankees at Phillies  —  YANKEES  —  PHILLIES  —  WEATHER: Pretty much the same as yesterday, but probably a little more sunny and not quite as windy.  Temperatures are supposed to be in the upper 50s.  —  UMPIRES: HP Dan Iassogna, 1B Eric Cooper, 2B Phil Cuzzi, 3B Chad Fairchild

Introducing Oliver  —  This week, The Hardball Times will be releasing the 2010 version of the Oliver projections as part of THT Forecasts.  You will be able to find batting, pitching, fielding, and (coming soon) base running projections and ratings for nearly 8,000 players.

Mauer's agent lands at training camp to meet with team  —  The agent for Joe Mauer, Ron Shapiro, has arrived in Fort Myers, Fla., to meet with the Twins.  While it's being shaped as Shapiro's annual visit to spring training, the sides are expected to hold face-to-face discussions about the future of the Twins' MVP catcher.